Chapter 46
Chapter 7
Summer passed in a blur of cicadas and ocean air. I got used to the coastal weather, the way rain could roll
in out of nowhere, even on a clear afternoon.
Northwood and everything that had happened with Sean felt like it belonged to someone else’s life now, hazy
and far away.
Mona got restless back home and flew out to meet me. We spent a week in a sleepy coastal town.
Rain started without warning, spilling down white walls and blue rooftops. I ducked under a café awning and watched the drops hit the cobblestones.
A line from a poem I’d read once drifted through my mind.
It felt like the rain was finally washing the last of the past away, carrying it all out to sea. Maybe that was what had happened, my childhood had washed away with the last rains of a northern summer.
September came fast. Mom cleared her schedule to fly out with us for move-in day.
Mona had shown up two weeks ahead of schedule. She’d been spending every afternoon at the business school gym watching scrimmages, and her skin had turned a deep tan.
The second we’d dropped our bags, she hauled me to the gym and thrust a sports drink into my hand. “See someone cute? Go say hi. Fresh start, new school, new you p>
I rolled my eyes but cracked the bottle open. When the halftime whistle blew, Mona bolted toward the court, throwing me a wink over her shoulder.
I glanced over to see what had caught her attention. A crowd gathered around the court.
“Can I get your Insta, Xavier p>
“You seeing anyone, Cole p>
“That three-pointer was insane p>
Through the crowd, I caught someone’s eye. Xavier. He was still in his practice gear, pushing his damp hair back from his forehead.
He cut through the crowd and walked straight to me, plucking the bottle right out of my hand without saying
a word.
A collective groan went up from the girls on the sidelines. One of his teammates called out, “Seriously, Cole? It’s a scrimmage. You didn’t have to flex like that p>
Chapter 7
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His eyes found mine, warm and amused, as he took a long drink.
I didn’t get back to the dorm until nine, and even after I’d unpacked, my mind kept going back to the
afternoon. I couldn’t quite settle.
I was reaching for my phone to text Xavier when it started ringing in my hand. I stared at the name on the screen for a long moment before I answered.
Sean’s voice sounded tired. “Hey. Where are you? Want to grab coffee? Maybe take a walk p>
I opened my mouth, then closed it. He must have taken my silence as anger, because he started talking
faster.
“I’m sorry I missed move-in day. Sarah, it was her first time away from home, and she was kind of a mess, so I helped her move in first. I just dropped her stuff off and left. I didn’t even stay p>
He paused. “I was wrong. About the whole study abroad thing. If you want to travel, we can do that. Every break, anywhere you want. Just, can we stop this? Please p>
The words spilled out. I was still trying to figure out how to respond when Mona’s voice rang out across the room. “Lily! Tell Xavier to wait-we need to get ready! We’ve got that mixer tonight p>
Dead silence on the other end. When Sean spoke again, his voice had changed. “Where are you right now p>
I let out a breath. “Europe. Kingsley p>
“What? That’s… you applied to the in-state program. I saw the paperwork p>
“I never said I was giving up Kingsley. You gave it up. That was your choice, not mine.” I paused. “Did you really think I’d throw away everything I worked for just because you did p>
Something clattered on his end, like he’d dropped the phone. Then nothing. Just breathing and silence that stretched on and on.
After that, I didn’t hear from Sean again.
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